People with Tinfoil Hearts
by rupindah
Summary: He was charming. She was cruel. He was handsome. She was, at best, pretty. He was snarky. She was funny. He had a secret. And she was one of them.
1. Chapter 1

(Prologue: Twenty Months After)

It was, if you permit, a dark and stormy night.

While the winds howled outside the walls of Hogwarts, something much more sinister lurked inside. What could that thing be? _Love._

When you're in love, you're different. You're diseased. And when you love, everything turns into a tragedy, whether you like it or not.

During this dark and stormy night, each separate love story collided, and at once, they all were the same.

(The One With the Weasleys – and the Potters, too)

(Maybe Even a Malfoy, a Finnegan, a Thomas, a Clearwater, and two Scamanders)

There were three moments in Rose Nymphadora Weasley's life, she wish had never happened, and always contemplated erasing them from her mind with magic.

The first was when she was caught trying to pee like Albus and James in the Potters' garden (she was approximately four and a half).

The second was when she tripped up the stairs during her Sorting Ceremony.

And the third used to be when her disapproving mother first caught her with a bottle of Firewhiskey, though this moment was to be replaced. It was being replaced on the train ride to Hogwarts during Rose's sixth year.

This moment, incidentally, was Rose faceplanting into Scorpius Malfoy's lap.

"Watch it, Weasley," the blonde boy threatened.

Rose gave him the finger. She probably shouldn't have, as it was her fault, or sort of. It was Al's, really. The dark haired boy was sitting across from Scorpius (and at the moment, Rose) and was grinning. It was definitely his Tripping Jinx that had sent Rose and her face flying into the arms (and groin) of Scorpius.

"Fuck you very much, Albus Severus Potter." Rose spat, but she took a seat next to him, anyway. He grinned at her, and after a few reluctant seconds, she grinned back.

Scorpius wasn't about to let go of the rude hand gesture, however.

"That wasn't very nice, Ginger." He frowned at her. "First you invade my personal bubble, and then you proceed to flip me off?"

Yes, the first day of school was starting off quite well.

"I think Al should apologize, not me." And with that, Rose turned away, conversation closed.

Scorpius kept on it, though.

"Really? Because I thought, with brains like yours, you'd be able to tell when a Jinx was floating around." Scorpius cracked one knuckle, then two. "Simple Defence, really. Oh – wait. What did you get on your O.W.L., again?"

Rose scowled at him. Scorpius had been at the Potter's home the day the results were delivered. He also had been there to witness Rose receive her results at the Weasleys, and promptly break down and cry.

"I got an Exceeds Expectations." She admitted.

"Not an Outstanding. Pity." Scorpius shook his head. "Want to know what I got? An O."

"For overbearing git?"

Al snickered, but when Scorpius shot him a look, he quickly quieted down. "For Outstanding, Rose." He clarified.

Albus was such a dunce sometimes.

The three of them sat in an uncomfortable silence as the train lurched on, only to be broken by the arrival of James.

"Alright there, everyone?" James leaned into the compartment, his hands resting on either side of the door.

"Rose had an altercation with Scorpius," Al said. James raised an eyebrow. And Rose, she was out of there.

"I sat with you for a required four and a half minutes, Albus. Have a wonderful school year. See you at Christmas." With that, she departed, James taking her seat. Just as Rose left, Mason and Eric Phillips slid in, completing the group of friends.

It was a wonder that those five boys were the most coveted in Hogwarts. Scorpius Hyperion, with his charm and handsome looks. Albus Severus, with his dark green eyes and reputation as quite the bad boy. Mason Albert, his unruly copper hair and cheerful attitude. Eric Johnson, with his equally unruly hair but sullen demeanor. And James Sirius, with his devilish grin and infamous pranks. The five of them were almost as inseparable as Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter, plus two others (though really, do brothers count as two?).

Rose was just a Ginny Weasley – a family member, a good friend, but not a lover. That was for sure. The train swayed again and Rose threw open another compartment door, pleased to see her four dorm members chatting with one another.

"There you are," Dominique said, pulling in her cousin. Rose sat gratefully beside the open window, grinning at her mates. "Seems like I haven't seen you in forever."

"Three days is forever with us," Rose said, and the two witches hugged.

"What I don't get," Delaney Finnegan muttered, "is how Rose gets along with only one person in her family, and that's the most intolerable person, other than Rose herself." 

"We find solace in each other's cruel humor," Dom replied, deadpan. She tossed back her shiny, blonde hair, almost blinding with the sunlight streaming through the window. "And how would you know if we were the only intolerable ones?"

Delaney smirked. "I've seen enough of James Potter to know he's quite tolerable."

Both Weasleys pulled a face.

In the corner, quiet as always, Aria Thomas smiled. With dark hair and equally dark eyes, the girl was definitely the black sheep of the dorm, though proved time and time again to be quite the faithful ally. She'd contribute to the conversation; if she thought her words were worthy. They weren't.

In the other corner (as if we were likening this situation to a boxing match) sat Emma Clearwater, who enjoyed hearing herself talk as much as Delaney did. One of the three blondes in the compartment (the other two being Delaney and Dominique), she was quite popular with the boys, if only because she was widely known for doing great things with her mouth.

The other four loved her, regardless.

"Albus is quite tolerable, also." 

"Shut up." Dom put her hands over her ears. "We don't want to hear this." 

"I wonder about Hugo…?" 

"And Louis," added Delaney. Those who weren't Weasleys cracked up.

Rose and Dom weren't as amused.

Eight compartments down, Lily Luna sat with aforementioned Hugo and Louis Weasley, plus Jamie Price, their compartment as silent as everyone else's was loud

The three never spoke much. Scratch that. Lily, she spoke quite a bit. Hugo and Louis though, reserved their words for more pressing matters. Hugo and Lily were both in their fifth year. Louis, though, was currently in his sixth.

The fact of the matter was he was too shy to hang out with Albus, too contemplative for anyone else.

Hugo and Lily accepted him. That's what counted. Jamie was merely Lily's friend, and although she also had much to say, she knew Louis and Hugo didn't.

Back in the compartment with the genetically gifted, Scorpius was thinking.

About Rose.

Oh, sure, he was rude to her about her face in his lap. But he realized he ought not to have been. That was a dirty trick Albus had played. As the two brothers regaled Mason and Eric with Quidditch tales from the summer, his mind was further away than London was already.

He should apologize.

The Scamander twins needed a place to sit.

They had been roaming the train for a fair bit of time now, but it was a futile exercise. Most compartments were taken, if not with people, with egos.

At last, Lorcan opened a door, and realized he believed in Destiny.

That's why he and Lysander took their seats in Lily's compartment, both pairs of eyes on the feisty red head.

In the compartment across, Bethany Silver and Jessica Recille napped.

The thing about Scorpius was, he was charming.

She was cruel.

He was handsome, and she, at best, was pretty. He was snarky, and she was funny. She had a secret. And he was one of them.

The thing about Rose was, she was charming.

And he was cruel.

She was beautiful, and he, at best, was good-looking. She was snarky, and he was funny. He had a secret. And she was one of them.

Lorcan and Lysander Scamander once played a silly Muggle game to stake their claim on Lily Luna Potter.

"Rock-Paper-Scissors" they both said in unison.

Call it what you want, but for eighteen games in a row, they both rolled the same object.

Therefore, they decided it was the first to the prize.

Delaney Finnegan had, indeed, seen a lot of James Potter.

Not in the lewd way she was describing to Rose and Dominique, though.

More of an emotional way.

That's a whole other story though.

Unlike Delaney, Emma Clearwater _had _seen a lot of Albus, physically.

That's not too great of a story.

Last summer, Mason Phillips had kissed Aria Thomas.

That hadn't gone over well with the girl.

Jamie Price wished Hugo would kiss her.

Poor Hugh, though. He didn't even noticed she existed. That, in Jamie's mind, was a true pity.

Louis had no one.

Or maybe, he had someone.

No one really knew, with Louis.

Bethany and Jessica were still asleep. More on them, later.

It's coincidence. It's cheesy, almost.

Here are eighteen people, and eventually, nine love stories.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you for all the people that have subscribed and reviewed! It means a lot. Special shout-out to Fay-Io, Rika98, and Hopie000 for your fabulous reviews. Much love. xx**

(Twenty Months After: Dark and Stormy Night)

Rose was running down the lawn to the Quidditch pitch.

Scorpius veered to the left and tightened his grip.

Delaney was drunk.

James wished he was.

Emma was crying, very loudly.

Albus was incredibly confused.

Aria was trying to sleep.

Mason was wide awake.

Dom lifted the scissors.

Eric burst through the door.

Jamie took six steps back.

Hugo raised his wand in one threatening motion.

Lily sneezed, and consequently, tripped.

Lorcan held out one hand.

Bethany threw a Dungbomb.

Lysander practiced his Keeping skills.

Jessica stood very, very still.

Louis leaned forward.

And time froze.

(The One with the Sixth Years)

The Hogwarts Welcoming Feast was always amazing, admirably so.

What was not so great was heaving oneself up the stairs afterwards. Those damn Hufflepuffs had it lucky, on the same floor.

Rose hefted herself up one step, then another. Though most girls in her year were dainty with their food she shoveled it in. Years of experience at the Weasley household taught her that if you don't eat fast, you don't eat. She hadn't been able to shake this habit, not even with five years at Hogwarts under her belt.

Delaney was waiting patiently. She was rambling.

"What I still don't understand is how Aria became Prefect. Girl hardly says four words outside the classroom a day. We don't even know what her favourite colour is. Sometimes, I forget what her voice sounds like." Delaney huffed. "But good on Lily for being the new fifth year Prefect. Why didn't you get it, again?"

"Must have had something to do with the picture of McGonagall Al signed my name with in third year." 

"Bless McGonagall. May she rest in peace." 

The stern teacher had passed away in their fourth year.

Rose finally made it to the floor where the Gryffindor Common Room was located, and the pair set off. "What happened to Dom?" 

"Talking to Louis. Emma tripped." 

"How did she trip?" Rose knew the answer.

"Albus." 

"He's getting too fond of that Jinx already, isn't he?" Rose mused. Delaney shrugged. They kept walking.

A few feet from the portrait of the Fat Lady, Rose heard her name being called. She spun around to see Scorpius Malfoy barreling at her, wand outstretched. Instinctively, Rose drew her own, but the green light from his wand flew over Rose's ginger head, and instead, hit Peeves.

If you can even hit him. Rose was never sure. He wasn't really a ghost, but he wasn't a solid being, either. He was just there. Uncle Harry liked to tell Rose the story of when he attached Peeve's tongue to his mouth, mostly when her mum was out of the room, so he could be affected by magic.

Peeves had clearly been about to drop a bucket of ice on Rose, because the bucket had landed on the floor, it's contents spilling out at her feet. She kicked at a cube and sent it flying down the hallway.

"Thanks," Rose said, looking up at Scorpius. He shrugged.

Delaney shifted awkwardly. "Er…" she said, and then turned to the portrait. "Rubies." The witch stated, and the door swung open. Without a second glance, Delaney climbed in, and shut the portrait behind her.

Rose was going to have a word with her after.

"Listen, Rose." Scorpius appeared nervous. How strange. He never was nervous. "I wanted to apologize."

"For what?" Rose asked, still eyeing the shut portrait hole.

"For being a prat on the train."

Oh, now Rose was looking at him.

"Did I just hear you correctly?" 

Scorpius frowned. "What do you mean?" 

"Did you just apologize, to me?" Rose asked incredulously.

"Yes. I did, Weasley." His frown deepened. "What of it?" 

"Oh my Gods, someone record this in the history books. Scorpius Malfoy apologized! Not only that, he apologized to me!" Rose squealed. If someone else had been around (besides a very large painted woman in a pink dress) the statement would have the desired effect Rose wanted, but alas, it was just the pair.

"No one will believe you." 

"As long as I know it myself," Rose said smugly. She turned to the portrait. "Rubies," was said once again.

"Hey – hold on!" Scorpius grabbed Rose's arm. "Am I forgiven?"

"Not quite," Rose answered, and off she went.

To Scorpius's credit, he wasn't angry. He was confused. He nearly always was, when it came to Rose Weasley.

If there's one thing you should know about Delaney Finnegan, she prefaces the majority of her sentences with "What I don't understand…". Sometimes she replaced it with "What I don't get…". There were lots of things Delaney didn't understand but she was rather vocal about these things. The young girl was the oldest daughter of Seamus Finnegan, and one of Rose's childhood friends.

She also had a fondness for blowing things up.

And she was ridiculously beautiful.

Delaney knew this. The difference between her and the majority of good looking girls that graced the halls of Hogwarts was that she didn't use this for her advantage. In fact, she thought it was quite the disadvantage, but that isn't important.

Sitting on the bed, Delaney brushed her long blonde hair, and quickly braided it as Rose entered the dorm.

"What did ol' Scorp want?" She asked. Loudly.

Like Seamus, Delaney had no tact.

The four other girls (minus Emma, who was in the bathroom) fell silent and looked at Rose.

You know those couples, who aren't really couples, but everyone insists they would look cute together? Those two people were Rose and Scorpius. Everyone insisted it would be the best pairing Hogwarts had ever seen (second only to James Potter and Lily Evans) – totally Romeo and Juliet. But, hopefully, as Dom so nicely put it, "you don't both kick the bucket at the end".

That was never going to happen, though. Not in Rose's mind. Because Scorpius Malfoy, as much of a git and jerk he was, was way out of Rose's league.

"He apologized." 

The dorm had pretty much the same reaction as Rose did. Dominique actually gasped. "For what?"

"I … accidentally… I tripped in the train and my face erm… may have been in a certain area of Scorpius's body." 

There was another silence, and then, Delaney cracked up, nearly falling off the bed. Aria was smirking. Dom just looked appalled.

Rose thanked her stars that Emma was in the bathroom.

"How'd it go, mate?" asked Albus, as Scorpius marched into their room.

Al, Eric, Scorpius were supposed to have the sixth year dorm with two other blokes. James and Mason, however, had pleaded and wrangled their way with Flitwick until they got to share a dorm with the three, and so, the quintet was complete. The other two roomed now with the three seventh years James and Mason were to be with.

"I saved her arse from getting iced by Peeves, and apologized, but she didn't forgive me." Scorpius threw open his trunk and began rummaging for his bedclothes.

"In that many words?" James asked, pulling a Chudley Cannons shirt over his head.

"No. First I saved her arse. And then she looked confused. Her blonde friend, Finnegan was there, and she left, and then I said sorry, and then Rose laughed because I apologized and said it was a monumental moment in history or something along those lines and I asked if I was forgiven and she said no and just left me in the blasted hallway!"

James wasn't paying attention anymore. Not after Scorpius said Delaney.

James Potter was something of a Casanova at Hogwarts. He had his fair share of girls. None of them were around too long and none of them ever really spoke to James. However, only Finnegan – or Darling Delaney, the boys liked to call her, because she was absolutely beautiful – had seen the true James.

And that's why James stayed away from her, although he very much wished he didn't have to.

"What I don't understand," Delaney said the next morning, over breakfast. "Is how your entire – _entire – _family ends up in Gryffindor, even dating back to your Nana Molly, which is practically when the dinosaurs roamed – " (Rose hit Delaney in the arm here) " – but Hugh ended up in Slytherin." 

"It is a mystery," Dom agreed, taking a large bite out of her bacon. Like Rose, she wasn't very dainty about her appetite. "Just like how Louis even ended up in Gryffindor." 

The three of them glanced down the table where Louis sat, quiet, listening to Lily ramble on and on.

"He must be brave to hang out with Lily all the time," Rose insisted.

"Who's brave?" asked Al, taking a seat next to his cousin.

"Louis."

"Merlin, yeah. He must be. We can hardly stand Lily over the holidays." As usual, even with his brother absent, Albus referred to him in passing. "She's a nightmare, and now that her O.W.L.s are coming up, I'm sure she is to be worse." 

The mention of the examinations made Rose scowl. Frowning into her pumpkin juice, she failed to notice Scorpius Malfoy sitting across from Al, staring very intently at her. Only for the briefest of seconds. But seconds, nonetheless.

Aria was late.

She was never late! She never got herself into situations to be late, but here she was, ten minutes later than she should be, scrambling down the stairs to get to breakfast so she could receive her schedule. Oh, Merlin. She hated mornings. They were the death of her.

Just as she reached the Entrance Hall, which was mercifully empty, Aria tripped.

And fell very, very hard.

"Ouch," the girl murmured to herself. She was flat on her back, staring at the ceiling, and thanking Isis that she was the only one there.

Except she wasn't.

Edward Longbottom sauntered over, holding out a hand to the dark haired girl. Edward was a Hufflepuff, and though their fathers were great friends, Aria never had any cause to associate with him before.

She took his hand, though, and let him pull her up.

"You alright?" asked Edward. Aria nodded, brushing off her skirt.

"Thanks." She said, biting her lip.

"Not a problem. You sure were going fast." Silence. "Were you late?" 

Aria inclined her head.

"Well… alright. Nice speaking to you, Avia." He began to turn away.

"Aria." She said quietly, then cleared her throat. "My name is Aria." 

Edward glanced at her, then smiled. "I know." With that, he was off, not to the Great Hall but a corridor alongside it.

Aria stood there, unsure of what had just happened.

Mason wasn't sure either, but he was sure he didn't like it. He reflected on this thought as he watched Aria from the entrance to the Great Hall. She looked confused. But she was blushing.

She didn't blush when he kissed her this summer.

And that pissed him off.

Delaney had left her wand in the dorm.

"I am so freaking stupid," she muttered, as she hustled out of the Great Hall. She had her schedule and had thirteen minutes to get to her dorm and then to the dungeons for Potions. Not that she needed her wand for Potions, but you never know.

But all this was thrown out the window when she heard Mason Phillips mutter, "Right you are, Finnegan." 

Delaney turned. "Excuse me?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Why are you stupid, Darling?" Mason ignored her initial response.

"I left my wand in the dorm." 

"Then yes, you are stupid." Mason finished. He tried not to notice Aria emerging from the Great Hall. She had only had a four minute breakfast, hadn't she? And why had Mason been standing here for four minutes, anyway? Why did Mason care?

Why was he mad at Longbottom?

Well, he didn't know, but he did enjoy taking it out on Finnegan.

Delaney's eyes followed Mason's gaze. Only two people were in the Entrance Hall. And unless Mason was gay, and was interested in Robbie Goyle, then she was pretty sure Mason was looking at Aria.

James did not appreciate seeing Delaney talk to Mason.

Was she talking about him? James's heart was beating hard. She was talking about him, wasn't she? She just asked Mason a question. Mason looked defensive. Oh, God. She was asking why James hadn't told him, wasn't she?

In that moment, James really hated Delaney.

And he wanted to get back at her for this.

Rose left the Great Hall just as Mason stormed off. Delaney shrugged at the retreating back of the seventh year and left herself, presumably to get her wand. Rose headed off to the dungeons, ready to start Potions.

Along the way, she ran into Aria. Aria was biting her nails, waiting at the staircase that led to the dungeons.

"What's up?" Rose asked. Aria dropped her hands and bit her lip, not saying anything. Like she ever did. In response, the silent one shrugged.

"Let's go, yeah?" Rose and Aria set off down the stairs. It was quiet for a bit, but Rose Weasley, she never shut her mouth.

"D'ya think I should have forgiven Scorpius?" 

Aria shrugged again.

"I think I should have. He was being sincere. And he stopped Peeves from icing me." Rose took a few more steps, looking thoughtful. "But he was such an arsehole on the train. It was his own fault I was a bitch, wasn't it?" 

Silence.

"Never mind. He's such a prick, anyway. He doesn't deserve my forgiveness." Rose had her proverbial nose in the air right now, didn't she? Aria sighed. "I didn't mean for my face to end up in his lap." 

And that was the fundamental problem, wasn't it?

Scorpius was furious.

He had heard what Rose had just said and decided not to go to Potions today. Simple as that. He could pretend he got ill after breakfast, because Professor Longbottom had definitely seen him, so he couldn't just _not go_ without an excuse.

As he sped back up the stairs, he took a random route, down the Transfiguration wing. Professor Patil was patrolling the hallways, looking equally angry. The Ravenclaw Head of House paid no attention to Scorpius as he ran by.

Scorpius took the next corner and ran straight into James, who was leaning against the wall, the Invisibility Cloak hanging off half his body, and in one hand, a cigarette.

"You smoke?" asked Scorpius dumbly. Duh, stupid.

"Occassionally. Pissing off Patil there, though. She keeps searching for the source but I put on my clock whenever I see her coming." He nods to the map in his other hand that Scorpius failed to notice before. "Why aren't you in class, Ickle Prefect?"

No doubt James's Uncle George had taught him that one.

"Your cousin pissed me off." 

James raised an eyebrow. "Wow, five minutes in on the first day of classes? World record." 

"We weren't even in class yet. I heard her on the stairs. She said I don't deserve her forgiveness." 

James took a long drag off the cancer stick in his hand. "That's what's getting your knickers into a twist, Scorpo? Rose still hasn't forgiven me for when I accidentally breathed her air when we were babies." Exaggeration, but not too much of one.

"Why don't I deserve her forgiveness? She was the one that gave me the finger." Yes, he was still harping on that.

"You should go yell at Albus. This is all his fault, anyway." 

"I should." Scorpius leaned against the wall. "Why aren't you in class?" 

"Mad." James answered simply, tossing the cigarette on the ground and vanishing it one motion.

"Who're you mad at?" 

"Finnegan." James shrugged. "She's a bitch." 

"Darling Delaney?" Scorpius tried to raise an eyebrow but lifted both of his blonde ones instead. "What'd she do to you?" 

"Talking smack."

"You better not get too mad at her, Jamesie. The Quidditch season is starting back up again soon." 

"Is that so?" James was Captain. He knew this was so. Scorpius was the Seeker. Delaney was a Chaser. "Well, indeed it is. I mustn't get too mad at her." James looked up at the ceiling. "I bet…"

"Yes?" Scorpius inquired.

"I bet I could get Darling Delaney by the end of the season." This was reckless and unprovoked. But, James was mad. And he wanted revenge.

"That's a ridiculous thing to bet, Potter."

"Is it, now?" James knew it was. "Well, then. I guess you won't take me up on this."

Scorpius was silent. And then: "Fine." 

"Fine?" 

"I bet you eight Galleons that you can get Darling Delaney by the end of the season."

"By get, I mean shag, you know." 

"I wasn't born yesterday, Potter." 

"You surprise me every day, Malfoy."

"Eight Galleons?"

"Deal."

They shook on it.

A minute of quiet, then all of a sudden, James was scrambling in his pocket. He withdrew a purple chew and popped it into his mouth, shoving the Cloak and the Map into his other pocket as he did so. And instantly, James vomited, all over the floor.

Professor Patil rounded the corner just as James threw up the second time, and she frowned at the pair. "Hospital wing, Potter. Malfoy, go with him." 

"Yes, Professor."

Scorpius led James off.

"That's not how you're supposed to do that, Eric." 

"Bite me, Severus." 

Eric and Al stood over their cauldron in the dungeon, trying to ignore Professor Black, who wasn't very supportive of their bickering in the back of the dungeon.

"Let me do it." 

"No." 

Eric and Albus had been at odds ever since Eric kissed Lily that summer.

Which wasn't too relevant as the kiss was maybe eight seconds, and Lily didn't even care (though she had appeared to enjoy it). Still, though. Albus was mad at him for it.

"You're doing it wrong."

"Fuck off, Potter." 

Eric liked Lily. But not as much as he liked someone else. He glanced over at the other side of the dungeon where this specific someone else was arguing with Emma Clearwater.

"Fuck you, Eric."

"No thanks." 

Albus followed his gaze, and noticed Emma Clearwater staring right at him. She looked around, then mouthed to Albus, "Revenge".

Shit.

That probably had to do with the fact Al had tripped her yesterday after the Feast.

Al was not James. He wasn't too much of a Casanova. He wasn't one at all. He did have quite a few female friends, though. Emma was one of them. And although he had kissed many girls, he didn't want the world to know that Emma Tongue Clearwater was his _first._

Yes, in that way.

He hadn't even told James.

"Look, it's boiling over." 

"Awesome." 

He hated Eric.

Dom hated Albus.

Because Albus had tripped her this morning.

"It is not funny," Dom snapped at lunch. Rose looked highly amused still. "He's on this tripping kick. We have to put an end to this." 

"I agree, Dommy." That was Eric. He sat next to Rose and took a carrot off her plate. Rose swatted at Eric's hand but the vegetable made it to his mouth, anyway. Eric had nice lips, Dom mused. They were rather full. "Albus must be stopped." 

"Albus is your friend. Isn't that against the Wizard Code?" 

Rose stared at Dom. "What on Earth is the Wizard Code?" 

"Like the Muggle's 'Bro Code', but for Wizards," Eric explained, taking another carrot. "Don't you all have the Witch Code?" 

Dom said yes at the same time Rose said no. "What's the Witch Code?" 

"I can't tell you now. Not in the presence of the enemy." Dom glared at Eric.

"I'm trying to be your ally here."

"Why do you want to stop Al?"

"He's being a dick to me," Eric shrugged. Dom and Rose looked at each other. Al was still mad at Eric for kissing Lily.

"Well, how do we stop Albus?" Dom asked. Rose got up. She was not about to be an accessory to this plan, that was for sure. Plus, Scorpius had just arrived.

"Good-bye," Rose said, and left the Hall, only to be impeded by James grabbing her arm and burping in her face. Shaking off her cousin, Rose once again set off to leave, and this time she made it.

"We trip him." Eric was a very simple boy. "But in front of everyone. A grand spectacle, if you will." 

"That sounds good to me."

"Who are you tripping?" Scorpius asked.

The two ignored him.

Edward found Aria in the library.

"Hello, again." Edward said, as if this was a coincidence. He had been looking for her, but that didn't matter.

Aria smiled at him, focusing on her work.

"What are you up to?" Edward asked, sitting across from her.

"Transfiguration." Aria said quietly.

"Ah." Edward watched her for a few minutes. "Listen, Aria."

She always did, but she looked up anyway.

"It would be very nice, if you er, accompanied me to the next Hogsmeade trip." 

That's rather fast. They hadn't even announced a date, yet. Aria tilted her head. Then, "Sure, Edward."

That was that.

Aria smiled at Edward's retreating back. He was nice.

Edward realized he loved Aria's silent smile.

Behind the shelf, Mason scowled.

He was so going to get Eddie the Huffie for this.

Delaney walked past a broom closet. An arm reached out. And she was pulled in.

James began to laugh.

Scorpius had seen Rose leave.

Rose was such a bitch.

Rose knew Scorpius had seen her leave.

Good.

Eric smiled at Dom.

Strangely enough, Dom smiled back.

Emma positioned the bucket carefully.

Al turned the corner.


	3. Chapter 3

(Chapter 3)

(Otherwise known as, The 5th Years)

Hugo Weasley was, yes, a Slytherin.

He ate with the Slytherins, slept with the Slytherins (not like _that_), went to classes with the Slytherins.

That was where his loyalty ended, though. Despite his nonchalance at family gatherings about being the dark horse, Hugo _hated _being a Slytherin. So he spent the majority of his time in classes with Lily and Louis, eating fast at meals to sit at their table (where he was welcomed by a rousing chorus of red-haired Weasleys) and spent his evenings with them in the library.

Jamie Price was a Slytherin, too. But the thing was, Hugo didn't really notice. Which was pretty dumb of Hugo, actually, because they had eaten breakfast together, slept together (not like _that_), and went to classes together for four years and one day, now.

Jamie thought about this at breakfast. Unlike Hugo, she had a few friends in her house. Specifically, Jessica Recille, a French girl who's mother disapproved of Beauxbautons and consequently sent her here.

"It is too much," Jessica said, looking at her plate.

"What is?" 

"The food here."

Jamie just nodded.

"Oh, no." Jessica immediately dropped her fork and began to fluff her hair, looking at something behind Jamie. She was rather pretty, Jamie thought. Long brown hair and creamy skin. Jamie was a ginger, herself. She fit right in with the Weasleys. When she went to Lily's house and they met with her entire family she was often mistaken for one by one relative or another.

"What?" Jamie asked, turning around. Lorcan and Lysander were entering the Great Hall. After a few steps, Lorcan headed to the Ravenclaw table, and Lysander made his way over to Slytherin. He was also one of Jamie's friends.

"Hello, Jamie." Lysander said, taking a seat. He nodded at Jessica and smiled. "Hello, Jessica." 

"Hello," Jessica answered, her voice breathy.

Jamie was figuring it out.

"Louis, do you think Eric likes me?" Lily asked her cousin.

Louis shrugged.

"I think he does. He kissed me over the summer, you know." He knew. "Albus flipped his lid." He knew that too. "He was sooo mad, Lou. For no reason!" Guess what? Yeah, he knew. "I hate Albus sometimes." Louis had heard this all before.

He wasn't really paying attention, though. Louis was looking all the way over the Great Hall. He was watching this French girl who was a friend of Jamie's.

She has rather nice hair, Louis thought. It looked like a soft blanket. Not in a bad way. But something you'd want to spend cold days in.

Oh, Louis Weasley. You're a goner.

"Hello, Lily, how are you." 

Lorcan said this totally deadpan to a spoon at the Ravenclaw table.

"Hello, Lily! How are you?"

That was too excited.

"Hello, Lily! How are you?"

That was a bit better.

"Hey, Lily. What's up?" 

Euch.

"Hey, Lily. How are you?" 

Perfect.

Lorcan stood up.

It was September 2, and that was the day Hugo Weasley noticed Jamie Price.

They were sitting in Defence. Hugo was good at Defence. Uncle Harry had taught him a lot. So he sat there, not paying much attention to the teacher, when something caught his eye.

Lily was leaning over, her long red hair brushing the parchment. And beside her was her best friend, Jamie. Hugo knew Jamie, of course. But he never really paid her much attention.

Except her tie was green.

Hugo's first instinct was, _Who did she steal that from? _

But then he realized.

"Hugo," He said softly to himself. "You are so stupid." 

"What's that, Mr. Weasley?" The professor asked, standing in front of his desk.

"Nothing, sir." 

So freaking stupid.

If Jessica Recille was a tiny spot on the horizon, Bethany Silver was an all out flaming star. Not because she was better – but because she was louder, brighter, and happier than Jessica was. The two were equally good looking, but confidence made Bethany all the more attractive to the male population at Hogwarts.

Except for one person.

Propping her hands on her chin, Bethany sat with Jessica in the library and stared at Hugo Weasley. "He's so cute." He was, indeed.

Lorcan and Lysander Scamander sat three feet away from them, but were too into their own heads to notice the pair of friends. That made Jessica nervous, anyway. She kept glancing over at them. Bethany noticed that.

"Go say hi," she nudged.

"No." Jessica shook her head.

Bethany grabbed Jessica's wand off the desk, and threw it at Lorcan and Lysander's table.

"_Bethany!_"

"Shh!" Someone hushed them from the next aisle. No matter. Jessica's wand was gone, and she had to retrieve it now.

Lily sat with Louis, Jamie, and Hugo on the other end of the aisle and watched as Mason Phillips slid from behind the stacks into the open, looking furious. She shrugged. Lily didn't care. She turned to Jamie, who was staring at Hugo. Lily knew about this. It was so obvious. "Jamie," she said to her friend. "I think I want to get closer to Eric Phillips." 

Lily was a moron, Jamie thought.

Lily was indeed a moron, not that she cared.

Louis watched Jessica, as Jessica stood up, and went over to the Scamander's table.

Oh my God, Jessica thought. I'm walking towards Lysander.

Bethany smirked.

Lysander noticed the girl walking towards him, and consequently, noticed the other one smiling at them. She was pretty.

Lorcan watched Lily.

Hugo sat, oblivious to everything.

**It is rather short and I apologize. Not feeling well at the moment. However, now that we have the setting chapters done with, we're going to go one to one couple:chapter ratio, which means you'll get a full out thousands of word Rose and Scorpius day next chapter. Yay! Special shout out to gryffindorinthetardis, who very much freaked when I creeped her on Tumblr and discovered she liked my story. Hey, sup. I have a Tumblr, yes. .com **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

**Or otherwise known as**

**(The Ice Bucket)**

* * *

><p>A bucket of ice water.<p>

So simple, yet so genius.

Emma was grinning to herself. A bucket of frickin' ice water. Albus hated the cold. He would always load up on clothing right before they went outside, even to the greenhouses. Three scarves. Two pairs of gloves. A huge coat, gloves, and a Warming charm. He hated anything cold, except ice cream.

Emma knew this. Oh, boy, did she know this. The first time she had hugged Albus Potter, her hand was freezing, after the big snowball fight of the year. He had flinched and moved away. It left her wondering for a really long time whether or not it was her fault, but then she came to the realization _Albus hated cold things._

Unlike the fifth years, the sixth (and a few seventh years) had things figured out. They were not muddled, not confused, not wondering who they loved. All of them had their sights set on one person who would end up being their destiny. Their fate. Whatever it was. Maybe even soulmates. And Emma Clearwater knew one thing.

Albus was hers.

Though, she admitted to herself, shaking out her long blonde hair, dumping a bucket of ice water on him wasn't really the way to his heart.

He turned the corner, and she snapped to attention, positioning the bucket carefully. "C'mon, Albie," Emma murmured. "Closer." He obliged (unknowingly).

And she dumped it.

"AH!" Albus screamed, falling backwards as the first wave of water splashed him. He hit the floor with a thud, soaked to the bone, already shivering. His face was pale, and his eyes were darting around wildly, searching for the culprit.

Emma jumped down from where she was positioned on the staircase, grinning at Al. He narrowed his eyes. "I knew it was you."

"I did give you a hint in Potions, if I recall correctly."

"Ice water? Seriously?" Albus stood, taking out his wand, and Vanishing the contents on the floor. He then proceeded to dry himself off, glaring at Emma all the while. "You couldn't have done better?"

"I could warm you up, if you want. No need for that silly wand." Her voice was sickly sweet, but her eyes were betraying her amusement.

"No, thanks," Al said shortly.

Emma paused, then sighed. "Come on, Albus. You tripped me. I dumped cold water on you. Aren't we even?"

"If everyone I've tripped dumps water on me, I might as well go swim in the Lake."

"The Squid would love that. He's been getting lonely. Misses you," Emma added, and Al turned red. It was no secret that Al fell into the Lake on their trip to the castle in first year. It wasn't his fault. Scorpius pushed him. _How those two became friends, _Emma thought, _I will never know._

No one would.

But that's a whole other story.

Albus stared at Emma for a few minutes, then tilted his head. "You look different."

"Do I?" She spun in a circle for him. "And what do you think is different, Albus Potter?"

"I don't know," he said slowly. "But I like it."

She beamed at him.

* * *

><p>"Darling," James Potter said, sitting in the common room that evening. "Why are you stressing?"<p>

"I hate that name," Delaney said absently, looking under the sofa cushions. "Stop calling me that."

"Sure thing, Darling."

"I'm sensing a pattern here. Between you, Mason, and Eric."

"Albus does it too."

"That's why I only like Scorpius."

"Rose won't approve of that."

"Rose doesn't approve of _anything._" Delaney said this with a sigh. She looked frustrated. And in truth, she was. "Merlin, where could it be?"

"Misplaced your brain, Finnegan?"

"I am so close to making sure you never have offspring, Potter." Delaney shook her head and kneeled down on the carpet, peering under a chair.

"No, seriously." James knelt down beside her. "What are you looking for?"

Delaney pushed back some of her hair. "My _wand._"

"Oh, dear." James frowned. "How did you misplace that one?"

"I had it this morning. And then it disappeared after Potions."

"Who d'you have Potions with?"

"The Slytherins," Delaney muttered. James raised his eyebrows and rocked back on his heels, looking interested. "Which, I mean, I don't think they took it. What are they going to do with my wand? But then again, this morning I called Jason Zabini a toad and I don't think he liked that, and his friends were there and they laughed at him…" Delaney took a deep breath. She hated how James Potter made her ramble. "And their table is behind mine."

"What'd you do? Just leave it out there?"

Delaney went pink and looked away.

"Oh, man, Darling. Not your best move." James stood, offering his hand. "Come."

"What are we doing?" Delaney asked warily, taking his hand. James pulled her up. She dusted off her tights, still in her skirt.

"We're going to get your wand back," James said.

"And exactly how are we going to do that?"

"You'll see." His eyes twinkled and he turned away, loping up the stairs to the boy's dormitory. Delaney waited for him, aware of the eyes that were watching her, interestedly. Some were boys, who just looked at her because she was pretty. But no doubt the girls were wondering what James Potter wanted with _her._

_I am not a … a … tart, _Delaney thought, furrowing her brow. _I am not._

But everyone figured a girl that pretty had to be.

James came racing back down the stairs, holding something purple and an old piece of parchment. "Let's go," he said, nodding towards the portrait hole door. Delaney obliged. They headed out, silent.

When they were in the corridor, James unraveled the parchment and tapped his wand to it. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." He muttered this part, but Delaney still caught it.

"What on earth are you doing?"

"Shh, Finnegan."

"Why don't you ever call me by my real name?"

"This is not the time for those questions," James answered evasively. "All right. Looks like Zabini and his mates are heading back from dinner."

"Dinner ended like, two hours ago."

"The Slytherins are slow. We're going to intercept them. Or, rather, I'm going to intercept them, but I need you on surveillance." He thrust the parchment and the cloak at Delaney. "Put on the cloak. And then keep checking the map."

"James, where the hell – "

"There is no time to explain!" He said, very dramatically, and then ran off.

"What am I supposed to be checking for?" She yelled, but he was long gone.

Delaney stared in puzzlement at the cloak for a few seconds, then opened it, drawing it around her and covering her head.

"Woah," she whispered. She had disappeared! What the hell? Where did James get an Invisibility Cloak from? Probably from his father, she guessed. Harry Potter had an Invisibility Cloak, didn't he? And… _oh._

_This map has everyone's name on it, _Delaney thought, appalled. _It's a bloody map with everyone's name – and location? – on it! _That was so creepy! But she shrugged it off. She'd ask him about it later. For now, she moved forwards carefully.

She couldn't just stay still. She had to move. Delaney paced up and down the corridor, then took the stairs to another one and settled into a crevice. She watched carefully as James moved fast through the halls, passing through what she thought were walls but actually doors pretending to be walls, and coming out right in front of the Slytherins.

Then they didn't move. Not for a while. Delaney's eyes slid over the map. She saw, weirdly, Albus and Emma in close proximity to one another, though in a random hallway. Rose was in the Prefect's office with Scorpius. Interesting, that one. Aria was in the library – as usual – but was that _Mason Phillips _with her? They seemed to be at the same table. Dominique was with Eric… but Delaney knew that, she had seen them in the common room. Hmmm. This was interesting, for sure. Who else could she see? Rose's younger brother, Hugo, was with Lily and Louis as usual. But there was a fourth addition to this one… Jamie? Who was that?

Just then, Delaney noticed James was moving. He was sprinting back up the stairs, and a few Slytherins were following. Standing up, Delaney began to move swiftly down the corridor, folding the map closed in her hand. She had no idea where she was going, but presumably the Gryffindor common room was James's target.

But someone pulled her into a broom closet.

Delaney screamed.

"Calm down, Finnegan!" It was James. He released her, letting her settle onto a bucket. She was breathing heavily.

He handed her the wand.

"Oh, James. _Thank you!_" How he got it back, she wasn't going to ask. "Here's… your map, thing. And your, er, Cloak."

"Thank you, my sweet." He opened the map and tapped it again with his wand. "Mischief managed," James said, before sliding it into his pocket. Then he began to fold up the Cloak.

"James, er-"

"Finnegan, if you ask me about these, I will return your wand to the Slytherins."

She shut up.

* * *

><p>"Aria," Mason said, sliding into the seat across from the dark haired girl. "Hello."<p>

"Hello, Mason," Aria said, not unkindly. "How are you today?"

"Great." Mason watched her. She was already ahead in her homework, it seemed. She was intelligent. "Aria, do you mind if I ask what you got on your O. ?"

Aria frowned, and he wondered if she was going to answer. Then, quietly, "I got all Os. Except for Creatures."

"What'd you get in Creatures?"

"An A." So that's why she was fifth, and not second. "That sucks."

She just nodded, returning to her work. Mason thought about her results. See, Aria wasn't _smart. _She just worked really, really hard. She probably put hours and hours into her studies, and that's why she got Os. But how do you study Creatures? That must have been why.

He didn't say any of this to her. Instead, he just watched her carefully, as she wrote notes so meticulously it looked as if he had been printed from one of those Muggle machines.

"Aria," he began again. She raised her head.

"When I kissed you this summer-"

"No." Aria's face flushed.

"No?"

"No, we're not talking about that." Aria bit her lip and looked down at her parchment. "Mason, I would appreciate it if you left."

So he did.

* * *

><p>"Well, that was brilliant, wasn't it?"<p>

The evening after The Fall of Albus Potter, as the students of Hogwarts called it, Eric sat again with Dominique in the Common Room.

"Careful, Phillips. People might think we're together."

"I would like that."

She stared at him. "What?" Dom asked him. Eric blushed.

"I said, I'd like for us to be together."

"Oh, Merlin."

"Too early for this, Dommy?"

"Don't call me that, Philly."

"Isn't that a Muggle cream cheese?"

"I don't know." Dom shrugged.

"So, will we?"

"Will we what?"

"Be together, Weasley."

"Not if you call me Weasley."

"Come on," he cajoled. "Go on a date with me."

"Where? To the Forbidden Forest?"

Eric grinned at her.

"Oh - oh, no. No way in hell am I going to the Forest."

"Just a little bit inside. We'll borrow the Cloak. Come on, Dom."

She sighed, looking around the room. No one noticed they were together. Dom raised her eyebrows as she saw James and Delaney enter the common room together - Delaney grinned and bit her lip, looking at James, who ran a hand through his hair and sauntered off. _Oh, my God. _Her eyes were wide.

"Dom?"

"Sure, sure. Yeah. Just tell me a date tomorrow." Dom got up and rushed after Delaney to their dorm. "Finnegan!"

"What? Oh. It's you." Delaney turned, almost inside their dorm.

"Did you just walk in here with Potter?"

"Of the James variety."

"You look cute together."

"Dominique, I am going to punch you."

"Would you? Would you really?"

Delaney sighed, flopping onto her bed. Rose was there. She was staring out the window, looking miffed. "Hey, Rosie."

"Did I hear Dom say you came into the Tower with James?"

"No," Delaney answered easily. She began to braid her hair. "Well, yes. He got my wand back."

"How did you not have your wand?"

"Zabini."

"Didn't you call him a toad this morning?" Rose asked, still looking out the window.

"Yes."

"Genius, Finnegan."

"Shut up, Weasley."

"Which one?"

Delaney rolled her eyes, flopping back onto the bed. Dom turned to her cousin.

"What's got your panties in a bunch?"

"Scorpius," Rose replied after a bit.

"What I don't understand," Delaney said. "Is how you two still don't get along, and it's been five bloody years."

"I apologized to him and he didn't take it well."

"You two have apologized to one another in the same week? No wonder he didn't take it well. It was probably a shock to his system," Dom said.

"I'm going to punch you."

* * *

><p>There weren't many times that Scorpius was truly, really angry.<p>

He was a happy soul. No, seriously. He was pretty chummy, compared to his father's days in Hogwarts. Was never purposely mean. The only person he clashed with was Rose. Rose Frickin' Nymphadora Weasley. She ruined so many things for him. Their first day, she was the first to get her feather to hover in the air. Wingardium Leviosa. Damn spell. Scorpius was the second.

That's how it started. The rivalry between the top two Gryffindor students. Rose and Scorpius were nearly the top students at Hogwarts, but a couple of the seventh years, and Victoire Weasley (though she was long gone, she had received all Os in her O. and Os in her N.E. ) had the grip on that. So instead, they battled for the top of their year. Rose had been on a winning streak – from first year to fourth, she had ranked top in her class.

Then came the O. .

Scorpius felt kind of bad, really. He had only gotten one higher than her because Nana Molly got sick one week before the examinations, and Rose had been flustered. In fact, more than flustered. It was the first time Scorpius had really seen her lose her cool. She was just upset, all the time. That's when Scorpius Malfoy realized something. He didn't just want to compete with Rose. He wanted to pull her into a broom closet, fold her into his arms, and kiss her until they both melted.

He fell in love with her when she was the weakest.

Alas, that didn't happen. He had been at the Potter's when the exam results came in. Sitting in his pajamas, eating breakfast on a lovely weekend morning. The owls, too many of them – Rose and Hugo had been staying over, too, along with Dom and Delaney – fluttered to the open kitchen window and squeezed through. They lined up on the kitchen counter. Albus and James's mum left the room, whispering to Harry in the family room (Harry didn't want to be in the kitchen with eight teenagers).

Everyone unattached their envelopes and held them. Scorpius, Albus, Rose, Delaney, and Dom. Hugo was asleep at the kitchen table (he wasn't a morning person).

"On the count of three," James said suddenly, and everyone looked grateful for it. "One… two…" He paused and looked around. He had received his O.W.L results last year, and had gotten all O. . Lily was watching, interested, propped on the kitchen counter, her feet swinging back and forth.

Rose was shaking in the corner, clutching her envelope like a mad woman. "Three!"

There were the sounds of tearing paper, gasps and moans, cries of relief and delight contrasted with cries of despair. All of the kids sat down, around the Potter's circular table.

"Who wants to go first?" Albus asked.

"Do we really have to read them out loud?" Delaney groaned. She looked as if she didn't want to go back to Hogwarts, ever again.

"We agreed on it, at the beginning of the summer, remember?"

"No," Rose pointed out. "I remember us playing Quidditch against you about it, but you cheated, so you won." She didn't look too pleased. Scorpius wondered why. Did she score anything less than perfect?

"I'll go first," Dom said suddenly. She cleared her throat and began to read her rankings, in slow, dramatic fashion. "Charms… E. Transfiguration… E. Herbology… E. Potions… O. Defence… A. Damn Boggart. History of Magic… A. Divination… T." There was laughter at that. Dom smiled a little. "Creatures… O. Obviously, with Hagrid. Astronomy… O." She set down her paper and smiled wildly. Everyone clapped, waking up poor Hugo, who fell off his chair, startled.

"What's going on?"

"Exam marks," James said, and Hugo's expression turned grave. He glanced at his sister, who wasn't looking up at them, and clapping lightly.

Delaney sighed. "I guess I'm next." She grimaced. "Charms, A. Transfiguration, A. Herbology, Potions, Defence, A. History of Magic, D. Divination, T. Expected those ones." She frowned. "Creatures, D. Killed the bowtruckle. Astronomy, A."

"Those are good, Delaney," Dom said, not unkindly. Delaney shrugged. "Only three non-O. ."

"Yeah," Delaney said, perking up. "Pass the bacon."

"Me," Albus said suddenly. He smiled. "Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology, Potions, Defence, History, Divination, Creatures, Astronomy… drumroll please…" Everyone drummed the table, except Rose. "E!"

"Good work, mate!" James clapped Al on the back.

"All thanks to Rose. She drew me up a schedule."

"Same here," James said. "But I still failed two."

"Well, obviously, as I am the smarter one…"

"Beauty over brains, Sev."

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Okay. My turn." He cleared his throat and looked directly at Rose. She still hadn't looked up from her paper. She looked… almost, what? Disappointed was the word. "All O's."

"As _expected!_" Albus cheered. Everyone clapped for Scorpius. "Now you, Rose."

"Transfiguration, Charms, Ancient Runes, Divination, Creatures, Astronomy, Potions, History, O." She looked sad. "Defence… E."

Someone gasped. The kitchen was silent. Rose refused to look up. No doubt everyone was looking at her with pity. Finally, she raised her eyes, expecting to see Scorpius with that stupid smug smile, gloating over his victory…

But instead, he just looked upset.

_Well,_ Rose thought. _That makes two of us._

He was thinking about this over breakfast. Scorpius was really beginning to hate breakfast. It was not his meal. He usually fought with Rose over breakfast. She wasn't a morning person. But Merlin, she looked cute in the morning. Flushed from her dreams. Irritated with the world.

He really wanted to start with her, right, this year. Honestly. But when she face planted into his lap… oh, dear. He just couldn't take that. Scorpius wanted to kiss her, right then, and there. So he had to control it. And he had to be snarky, that's how. He didn't think it would incite such an issue between them.

He looked up to see her slide in across from him, already with food in her mouth. Toast, with jelly. Rose chewed, and swallowed, then sighed. All of these things were heavenly. "Scorpius," Rose said seriously. He wondered if he were dreaming. Oh, dear, Scorp. You have it bad.

"What?" Scorpius asked her, trying to maintain his anger. He still was pretty mad. She shouldn't have been so rude about him, especially behind his back.

"James talked to me," she said quietly. "I'm sorry you overheard the conversation between Aria and I."

Scorpius felt like he had been slapped. "But not sorry you said it?"

"Seriously?" Rose lifted her eyes to the ceiling, the sunlight streaming from the enchanted tiles. "This is what you're picking at?"

"Yes," Scorpius answered. "Yes, I am. You're not apologizing for what you said."

"I don't have to. It was a conversation between a friend and me. What I say to her isn't apology worthy." Rose snapped. Scorpius didn't feel heavenly anymore. He was irked.

"You're kind of rude, Ginger."

"Geez, did you eat a plate of stupid for breakfast?"

Scorpius hid a smile. "Yeah, it was right next to the plate of non-apologies. You must have missed it."

"Oh, shut up, Blondie." Rose got up, clutching her toast, and stomped over to sit with Dominque.

Good.

Or not.

Fuck, he didn't know.

Scorpius was so… so… so infuriating.

"What's up? Why are you so mad?" Dom asked, as Rose sat down beside her with such a force the goblets rattled precariously.

"Because she's Rose," Emma remarked wryly. Rose shot her a look, but Emma wasn't one to be intimidated by the redhead in front of her. "Oh, Rose. You're either on an incredible high, or you're just extremely mad. Never in-between."

"That's not true," Delaney said, trying to – or Rose thought she was trying to – defend her friend. "Sometimes she's unbearably irritating."

"You mean, always, right?" Eric chimed in. Rose turned to look at him.

"Are you speaking to me?"

"It would appear that way," Eric said. "Even though I'm not. I was talking to Darling over here."

"I hate that name," Delaney shot back.

"Sorry, Darling."

Rose could hear Delaney let out an annoyed sound. She kept her eyes on Eric. "Don't you have Dungbombs to drop?"

"That's so second-year."

"I just saw you drop one before breakfast." Dom supplied.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Eric answered. "I'm discussing plans with Dommy here –"

"Dommy? Really?"

" – about how to trick our mini Harry Potter."

Delaney laughed. Rose smiled a little. "You're going to trick him?"

"In about three minutes. Just watch."

"I got him good last night, too," Emma said. "Bucket of ice water."

"Emma, you're awful." Delaney shook her head. Aria finished off her pumpkin juice. She didn't want to get into this. Al wasn't a bad guy, really… He was nice. He just had an issue with pranking people. Al wasn't as suave about it as James was. He was so obvious. Albus really needed to work on that, Aria thought. She saw Edward at the next table, and jumped when he winked at her. Oh, dear.

"Hey, Albus!" Eric cried suddenly, rushing over to where Al sat with James, both looking sleepy. "Longbottom wants you."

"Where?" Albus asked, his head turning.

"Up there." Eric pointed to the raised teachers' platform. Albus stood, and loped towards the table.

He really is the dunce, Rose thought. Merlin knows how he got so many O. .

"This is so juvenile," Aria said quietly. Everyone looked at her and started to laugh. She hit the nail on the head, again. "He's just going to step onto the platform and take a dive, isn't he?"

"You should talk more," Eric said seriously. "You have a wonderful brain."

"Shut up, Eric," Mason said, unprovoked. He was observing quietly, standing a few inches behind Aria's head. Aria's lips pursed and she stared at her empty plate. It had hardly contained much food on it.

Albus took one step up onto the teachers' platform. They all turned, looking suspiciously at young Mr. Potter. He smiled, took another step, and his feet slipped out from underneath him.

It was with surprising grace but also with expectance that Al fell right on his face, to the applause of the students in the Hall. He rolled over, looking up at the ceiling, and the Gryffindor table burst out in laughter.

Rose saw Longbottom rise, but instead of checking to see if Al was okay, he walked over to his House's table. The laughter silenced immediately. Professor Longbottom walked slowly, checking out his students. The first to third years nearly crapped their pants, but as soon as he reached Rose's group, he knew what was up.

"I don't know who was responsible for this, and I won't be able to tell," Neville said quietly. "But one of you should become the scapegoat for this one before the day ends, or _all _of you will be published, and I will take points away from _all _of you."

"It was just a tripping, sir," Eric said earnestly. Neville's gaze fell on him. Though his eyes were serious, his mouth was twitching. Neville probably knew about Al's antics. But he had to punish one of them.

"Mr. Phillips," Neville answered. "I think we should take a walk."

When they left the Hall, everyone started laughing again. Al had returned by then, and he was grimacing, but looked pretty pleased.

Rose knew he wasn't going to trip anyone any time soon, though.

* * *

><p>Scorpius was such a jerk.<p>

She had _apologized _to him. And he had been an arse to her about it. Scorpius, you're a prick. Scorpius, you suck.

_Geez, did you eat a plate of stupid for breakfast?_

Yeah. And he washed it down with too much ego.

Scorpius burst into the Common Room, looking for Rose. He hadn't seen her at dinner and noticed she had been moody all day. Though that wasn't much of a change. Merlin, why was she always so angry? It didn't suit her. Scorpius loved it when she laughed. He scanned the Common Room. There was no laughing Rose. Instead, there was an angry Mason, an amused Eric, and a confused James. There was also Albus, asleep under a table. He paid no attention to him, and instead sat next to Mason.

"What's up with you?"

"Nothing." Mason shook his head. "Nothing at all."

"You're like a girl, mate. You're just begging for us to ask you."

"If you did, you'd severely hurt my pride. So, don't ask me."

"I'm going to ask you in five minutes."

"Too bad I'll be gone in four."

Scorpius almost smiled.

"It's girls," James said suddenly. "They mess with you."

"Having troubles with our bet, Jamesie?"

He gave Scorpius a dark look. "No. In fact, I've gotten pretty far in two days."

"How far?"

"Not like _that, _arsehole. Just in being friends."

"Being friends doesn't lead to no clothing, James."

"Like you're an expert, Malfoy."

He looked away.

"What's your issue, anyway?"

"Your cousin."

"You always seem to have a problem with her," Eric remarked. "Rose, I'm presuming?"

"No. Louis."

"Damn Louis."

Scorpius laughed. "Yeah, Rose. As always."

"What happened this time?"

"I fucked up." Scorpius shook his head. "She apologized to me and -"

"Hold the phone." James raised his palms. "She apologized? Rose Weasley?"

"What's a phone?" Mason asked confusedly.

"It's a Muggle thing."

"Oh." Mason turned to Scorpius. "So she apologized?"

"Yes. And I did not accept it."

"You two need some counseling."

"I hope you choke, Potter."

"Look. Just go tell her you're sorry you didn't accept her sorry."

"Because that is going to work," Scorpius snorted.

"Just go talk to her, mate." Eric said quietly. "She can't deny you that."

"It's _Rose. _She can deny you anything."

"Oh, for Pete's sake, go talk to her and shut up," Albus muttered from the ground.

"Who's Pete?"

Scorpius stood. He nudged a second year girl. "Hey, can you go to the sixth year girl's dorm and ask for a Rose? Tell her James wants to talk to her."

"Hey!" James said. "I'm not a part of this, mate."

"Like she's going to come down if I said it was me."

"Fair point."

The second year scurried up the stairs, and returned moments later, with Rose trailing behind. Rose looked at James. "Yeah?" She asked, calling from across the room.

"Not me," James said instantly. "Him." He pointed to Scorpius, who's face turned pink.

"Yeah, uh. Can I speak to you for a minute, Rose?"

"No." Rose sighed. "Yes."

He gestured to the portrait hole and the two exited. They stood in the corridor, a little ways away from the Fat Lady (who was a terrible gossip) and stared at each other defiantly. Scorpius crossed his arms. Rose did the same. Oh, Merlin. This was awkward.

"Rose -"

"What?"

"Let me finish. I'm sorry I am such a prat."

"Thank you for this, Malfoy."

"No. Okay. This isn't going right." He swallowed and stared at her, right into her eyes. They were brown and angry, but also... sad? Confused? He didn't know. He never knew. "Look. I wanted so badly, to start the year off right with you. I tried, at the Potter's house, y'know - we were nice to each other there. But, you landed in my lap... and I don't know. I just got snarky. I'm sorry. And I'm sorry I didn't accept your apology."

"Are you?"

"C'mon, Rose." He sighed. "Please. Let's not fight. I don't like it."

She dropped her arms, and her expression turned sad. "I don't either, Scorpius."

"Good." He smiled at her. She smiled back, tentatively.

Then Scorpius did something stupid. His brain decided, _Hey, you know what? This would be a good time to hug her. And then kiss her. Do it, mate. You won't regret it._

__So he did.

Scorpius stepped forward. And wrapped his long arms around her tiny body.

* * *

><p>He was <em>hugging her.<em>

__This was not going to end well. Oh, oh Goddess, he was hugging her, and Rose felt her entire body relax in his arms. _He is hugging me, _she thought. _And all is well._

__But nothing could prepare her for what he did next.

Scorpius tilted her head back lightly, his fingers on her chin. He looked straight at her. Rose registered his eyes were dark and cold, so silver they were like steel. She couldn't look away. Then, they shut.

And he kissed her.


	5. Chapter 5

_(Chapter 5)  
><em>

_(otherwise known as)  
><em>

_(WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON)  
><em>

* * *

><p><em>(Aria) <em>

If you happened upon this scene from a distance away, you would assume the pair sitting in the stands of the Quidditch pitch was a couple. But the truth was, Aria Thomas and Mason Phillips were the farthest thing from a couple. They were nowhere near being intimate in that way. They weren't even _friends. _Yet, at that very moment, Aria was curled up in Mason's arms, and the latter was comforting the former.

It was a Saturday, and it was precisely three days since Aria did something she wished she hadn't. Mason had seen her slip away from the group after breakfast, and followed her out to the pitch. He climbed the stands with her, being carefully quiet, but she had known he was there. So when she sat down and bit her lip to keep from crying, Mason had moved forwards, and hugged her.

He hadn't let go.

"Aria…"

"It's all my fault," Aria said thickly, on the edge of tears. "I shouldn't have said anything. Rose probably hates me, right now."

"Rose doesn't hate you-"

"I don't know how you would know, considering no one has spoken to her since that night."

"That's true. But Rose can't hate you. You're too…"

He had many things to say, but he wasn't sure if she wanted to hear them. As usual, Aria stayed silent. "You're too sweet. And wonderful. And kind… and it wasn't your fault, we were asking you the questions."

Aria sniffled into Mason's sweater, still quiet. "What were you supposed to do? Ignore us? You're not that kind of person."

"Mason, you don't know what kind of person I am. We hardly talk."

The words slipped out before he could stop them.

"I think I love you."

* * *

><p><em>(Mason)<em>

"I'll be right back." Mason murmured to Albus. Albus shrugged. He didn't care. He was drunk. It was his parent's wedding anniversary. It was his dad's birthday, too.

"Happy birthday to Harry Potter! Long live the Chosen One! Long live the Boy Who Lived!" Albus cried in response. Mason shook his head and backed away.

The reason for his departure was Aria Thomas. She had just slipped away from her friends, heading into the house. And Mason had something to say to her. So he followed her, inside.

* * *

><p><em>(Delaney)<em>

_One._

Nothing.

_Two._

Nope.

_Three._

Silent.

Delaney and James were sitting in the hallway outside the Prefect's office. Why were they sitting there? Well, that's where Rose was. And she wasn't coming out. In fact, the Head Boy was getting rather irritated, because she hadn't let him into his office in three days.

James and Delaney had spent a lot of time together these past three days, trying to coax Rose out of her office. But she hadn't. So instead, Delaney and James had spent a lot of time talking and being nice to each other, a rarity, but necessary after James had rescued her wand.

Delaney had tried, various times, to ask about the Cloak and the Map. Each time, James had sidestepped her so gracefully, she felt awkward bringing it up again. But she managed to do it.

He couldn't evade her questions forever.

"James…"

"You know, Delaney, you're the only bird – I mean, girl – who can pull off blonde hair."

See?

Delaney frowned at him, then sighed. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome."

They turned to look at the door. James had been bouncing a tiny rubber ball off of it for a few hours now, but Rose refused to open it. "She probably put a _muffliato _on the door."

That sounded like Rose.

"How long do you think she can stay in there?" Delaney asked.

"Long enough." James shook her head. "She's famous for it. This happened all the time when she was younger."

"How did you deal with it then?"

"Usually aunt Hermione did it."

Rose's mum was rather scary when she had to be.

"I guess we have to wait," Delaney said, sinking lower against the wall.

"I don't mind waiting here with you."

* * *

><p><em>(James)<em>

James Sirius Potter rarely ever cried.

In fact, he never did. Just when his Nana Molly got sick. Sometimes when they were younger. But he was Harry Potter's son. He had a reputation before he was born. He never cried, because he never felt like crying, and because he just … couldn't.

But one time, Delaney Finnegan, the beautiful, blonde Darling Delaney, had found him crying in the greenhouses.

She had a headache. But instead of going the Healer, she decided to make it herself. She had most of the ingredients, minus a few bay leaves, so she went to the greenhouses to fetch some.

But instead she came across James, lying in the patch of Butobers, crying silently.

"James?" Delaney asked tentatively. "Are you alright?"

He had sat up instantly, wiping his tears, pretending like he hadn't been crying. But Delaney had perfect vision. So she knew.

"I'm fine."

"You really aren't," Delaney muttered.

"Then why'd you ask?" James replied, scowling.

* * *

><p><em>(Emma)<em>

She didn't even know where she was. Emma was vaguely aware she was supposed to be helping Delaney and whoever get Rose out of the office, but to be frank, Emma had more pressing worries than that. In fact, she had a lot bigger problem than Rose and her embarrassment.

Emma was holding a letter. A letter from her parents, stating that her younger brother, Tobias, was deteriorating. She hated that word. What did that even mean?

Tobias had cancer. It was a Muggle disease. It doesn't matter what it was though, because Tobias had it. He had it in his brain. And it was killing him.

The letter was shaking, because Emma was shaking. She dropped it, burying her head in her hands, trying to bite back the sobs. Because if there was one thing Emma could not do, it was lose it in a random stairwell at Hogwarts.

There was a crash and bang behind her, and then a shout. Her name. "Emma!" She didn't look up.

"Emma, we got Rose out of- hey, are you okay?"

"Go away, Albus." For that's who it was.

"What happened?" Albus sat down next to her. Emma wanted him to go away. She wanted him to stay.

"Nothing. For the love of Merlin, leave me alone."

"Something clearly happened."

"Fuck off kindly, Albus Severus."

Then he did the worst thing possible.

He picked up the letter.

She didn't notice at first, so he had seen the worst part of it before she snatched it back. With those wide green eyes, Albus looked up, gazing at Emma. All traces of glee about Rose were wiped from his face. "Emma…"

"No. No, don't even talk about it." She got up and began to walk down the stairs.

Albus stared after her, frowning. He could have let her go. Instead, he got up, and he ran after her, because Emma needed someone right now. "Emma, it's okay. You can be upset."

"I'm not upset."

"Your brother is dying, and you aren't upset?"

She wheeled around, her expression contorted into grief. "Of course I'm fucking upset, Potter! My brother is going to die, and – and –"

So he hugged her.

* * *

><p><em>(Albus)<em>

"HAPPY FUCKING BIRTHDAY TO ME!"

He screamed this at the top of his lungs, standing on a table in the Gryffindor common room. Everyone in the common room – close to 100 people – let out a cheer for Albus Potter on his sixteenth birthday.

"HAPPY FUCKING BIRTHDAY TO YOU!" The crowd screamed back. Albus beamed. He was drunk. He was actually wasted. Everyone was happy for him. Happy birthday to you, Albus. He was going to regret this in the morning. He didn't regret it right then, though, so he really didn't care. Albus Severus Potter lived in the moment.

He climbed down from his perch on the table and began to weave through the crowd. People wished him happy birthday and he hugged them. People who didn't, he hugged anyway. He was in that mood.

When he happened upon Emma Clearwater, he could tell she was plastered, too. She looked astonishingly beautiful in the light of the fire. In fact, Albus realized, somewhat sobering up – she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

"Emma," he stated, stumbling forward. She looked up and smiled.

"Happy birthday, Albus." Emma murmured.

Instead of hugging her, Albus kissed her, right on the lips. Emma kissed him back. They pressed up against one another, the sounds of the party drowning out.

What Albus didn't know is that Emma wasn't drunk. Emma was entirely sober. She was just sad.

The letter, informing her of her brother's scan results, burned a hole in her pocket.

* * *

><p><em>(Dominique)<em>

"You know…" Dom said, looking around the Common Room. She and Eric were sitting together, her legs draped over his, his arm slung over her hips. It wasn't sexual. They were just comfortable – and bored. "How come good ol' Scorp hasn't gotten her out of the closet?"

"It's not a closet. It's an office."

"Have you seen the size of the office? It's a bloody closet."

"I don't know where Scorpius is."

"You don't know where he is?"

"Well," Eric amended. "I do. He's doing his usual Scorpius things. But he hasn't tried to talk to Rose. I think he's giving her space."

Dom snorted. Space. Sure. It was his fault Rose was locked in the closet, anyway. Office. Whatever. Actually, it was somewhat Aria's fault, but Dom had noticed the girl's silent remorse so she didn't push it. In fact, Aria looked really upset, lately. Dom was convinced she should have kept silent.

Of all days to open her mouth, it had to be that one?

Whatever. She looked over at Eric. He was cute. Dom knew this much. But why he was here, she didn't know. Then again, Mason was with Aria – or so she thought, watching him run after her that morning – Rose was in a closet (Office!), Delaney and James were sitting outside said office, Emma and Albus were who knows where…

They were the only two left, and by default, hanging out.

"So, Eric. What are you planning to do after Hogwarts?"

"Nothing."

She choked a little, surprised. "N-nothing?"

"Nope. I have no plans."

"What about Quidditch?"

"I'm not that good."

"Rubbish," Dom said. "You kick my arse during practices."

"Speaking of – you're on the team this year, yeah?"

"Of course."

"D'you know when Potter is setting the tryouts?"

"Who do we need?"

"I'm assuming either Rose or Scorpius is going to quit, considering the situation…"

"Right."

Back to thinking about those two.

* * *

><p><em>(Eric)<em>

"Weasley."

The blonde jumped, spinning around, her blue eyes wide. Eric put a hand to his mouth, trying not to crack up. "Who are you hiding from?"

"Er…" Dominique peered around Eric, then sighed. "Slughorn."

He had to laugh at that one. "You're hiding from the man throwing this party?" It was the Christmas Slug Club gathering, the year before.

"Yes." Dom didn't elaborate. She gestured at the drink in Eric's hand. "What's that?"

"Punch."

"The fruit kind, or the good kind?"

"The good kind," he said, taking a sip. Yes, definitely good – it was spiked with something. What, Eric didn't know.

"Well," Dom sighed. "I might as well get one." She moved away from her hiding spot – behind a statue, and began to weave her way to the snacks. Eric took in her long blue dress. It was an astonishing colour against her pale skin. Dom glanced over her shoulder, smiling. "Coming?"

* * *

><p><em>(Before)<em>

Aria was late.

Oh, God. How did she let herself get distracted? How did Edward do that to her? She had known him for barely a week… and he had kissed her. In the library. It was kind of romantic, actually. She had let the book she was holding fall with a thump, and they kissed for a long time in the Restricted section.

It was all so… new to her. This stuff never happened to Aria. When she was out with her loud, vivacious friends, she was overlooked more often than not. Aria loved those girls, she did, but they cast a shadow she could never get past.

As she turned the corner into the corridor that housed the entrance to the common room, Aria spotted Rose and Scorpius, arguing.

She had half a mind to backtrack and pretend she hadn't seen them, but by the time she came to this decision, the Fat Lady had spotted her. She was clearly interested in what was going on with Rose and Scorpius, and Aria was pressured easily – even by a portrait. So she moved forwards.

"Rubies," Aria murmured to the portrait, and it swung open obligingly. When she stepped forward into the Common Room, she noticed it was empty, save for her friends (if you could call all of them that) and a sleeping second year.

They seemed to be debating whether or not to bring him up to his dorm. "He won't bother us," Emma was saying. "Leave him be."

"C'mon. If Rose and Scorpius end up in here, he's gonna end up scarred."

"He's _sleeping._"

Aria shook her head and moved forwards, heading towards her dorm.

Unfortunately, James spotted her.

"Oi! Aria!" He started towards her, and the rest followed suit, leaving the sleeping second year be. "Did you see them?"

"See who?" She asked, knowing who James meant.

"Rosie. And Scorpius."

Aria hesitated. "Yeah, I saw them."

"What were they doing? Are they going to kill each other? Is one of them dead?"

"You're being very dramatic, Albus."

"I just want to make sure Rosie's alive. She owes me three Galleons."

"I thought she gave those to you."

"She did not."

"Yeah, she totally did."

"Shut up!" James waved his arm through the air. He turned back to Aria. "What were they doing?" He asked again.

That's when Aria remembered.

As she stepped into the portrait hole, she glanced back at the pair, and to her own amusement, saw them embracing.

"They were… er, hugging."

Even the fire fell silent as everyone processed her words.

"Hugging?" Albus asked, his eyes bulging out. "Aria, I think you've been sniffing too many books."

"Hey," Mason said quietly, socking Albus in the arm. "At least she's opened a book."

"I've opened a book-"

"Maybe when you were like, five-"

"How could she have seen them kissing? Rose and Scorpius have never even touched. Not once. Not ever. Maybe when she punched him in fourth year-"

"That was _so _funny, I remember that-"

"We should go see."

"You can't go see them, you prat, that's embarrassing."

"They're hugging, I want to make sure I memorize this moment in my brain-"

"You are _such _a perv-"

"We're going!" James waved his hands in the air again. "Just to look. Two minutes, okay? Not even. We'll open the door and just make sure they aren't dead."

"It's really not our place, James…" Aria said hesitantly, but she was too late. The seventh year was already heading towards the portrait hole, and with a shrug, the rest began to follow.

When the group stepped out into the hallway, the may have expected fighting. They may have expected hugging – as Aria had claimed. But instead, they saw Rose and Scorpius kissing.

There were a few moments of shock and quiet, and then Eric laughed.

* * *

><p><em>(After)<em>

For the first time in three days, Rose joined her mates for supper.

"How did you get her out?" Eric murmured to Delaney, who just grinned.

"That's our secret," she whispered, glancing over at James, who winked back at her. "We'll tell you. Eventually. What did you and Dom get up to?"

"That's our secret."

"You're such a prat, Phillips."

"What did I do?" Mason asked, looking up from his stew.

"Not you," Delaney said, laughing.

A few seats down, Emma – pleased her friend had finally stopped moping, and therefore put aside her own troubles – was trying to coax Rose into eating more. "You can't eat just that," she said. "When did you last eat?"

"At lunch. I sat with the first years and wore a scarf. You didn't see me," Rose said triumphantly.

Albus laughed. "Rose, you know, sometimes you use those brains of yours for a good reason."

It was laughter and merriment all around at the Gryffindor table, but one person was conspicuously absent. Scorpius Malfoy hadn't really been on the minds of his friends ever since the incident. He had been seen around, of course, and that's why they weren't worried. But he didn't know yet, that Rose had come out, and that's why he looked so surprised as he approached the Gryffindor table.

Everyone quieted for a minute as Scorpius sat across from the redhead who refused to look at him.

"Rose," he said quietly, his voice cracking on that one single syllable. Dom, who was sitting next to Rose, noticed how _terrible _Scorpius looked. His eyes were bloodshot, his skin looked pale, and his hair was dull. He looked completely affected by Rose's absence. "You can't – you can't ignore me forever. We have to talk about this."

"Sod off, Malfoy."

Scorpius just shook his head. "No. We can't go on like this forever, Rose, we need to discuss what happened."

"Nothing _happened, _okay? You kissed me and I kissed you back – and everyone saw –"

"Yeah, you kissed me back! So why is it an issue?"

She didn't answer that. Everyone pretended to eat their food, as Scorpius continued to stare Rose down. Then: "Fine. Fine." He got up from the table, swinging his bag over his shoulder, and stalked off.

Just as Scorpius left, Aria arrived, having gone upstairs to retrieve a brush for Rose's rather unruly hair. But when she came back, she looked very… pale. As she stood behind Rose and raised the brush, it did not go unnoticed that her hand was trembling.

"Aria?" asked Delaney. "What happened?"

Aria looked up, then bit her lip. She shrugged. "Er… nothing."

"Well, something happened," Dom said. "You're shaking like James does in the dark."

"I am _not _afraid of the dark."

"Last time the candles went out you groped Eric in your panic."

"I enjoyed that," Eric said.

"Oh shut up, you twats. Aria. What. Happened."

The dark hair girl glanced at the entrance to the Great Hall. She was rather pretty, James noticed. In a way that goes unnoticed when she was next to her classmates, but nevertheless. High cheekbones and wide eyes, and her skin a beautiful coffee colour.

"Have you, all, er, heard anything about – well, me?"

Albus laughed. "People don't talk about you, Aria."

"Well, I think… they do now."

"What are they saying?" asked Emma, staring up at Aria from Rose's other side.

Aria just shrugged and continued to brush Rose's hair.

As they were leaving the Great Hall, after stuffing themselves as full as can be, they were friendlier with one another than they had ever been. Scorpius, of course, was absent, but the rest of them – they were _friends_ – an event that had never happened. Delaney was cracking jokes with James, Emma was linking arms with Albus, and Dom was talking to Mason and Eric about homework (Eric never did his in sixth year, but now had to buck up for seventh). Aria was walking quietly with Rose, who had never appreciated her friend's fondness for silence until now.

As Mason passed a group of Hufflepuffs, he heard Aria's name, and slowed down to listen to what they were saying.

"… a really good shag, Longbottom said. Quiet in her daily life, but loud then…"

Mason stood still, his entire body going cold. He glanced at Aria. Could she have – after this morning? Is that why – no. She wasn't like that. Mason looked over at the Hufflepuffs. Fourth years, he determined.

"What did you say?" he asked them quietly. They looked up at him, backing away from the tall, dark, angry boy.

"N-nothing," said the one who had been speaking in the first place. Mason stepped forwards. There was nowhere left to back up – they were pressed against the wall.

"That's not what I heard. What were you saying about Aria?"

"Just… what Longbottom has been saying."

"And where's Longbottom?"

The Hufflepuffs, true to their trait, didn't tell him. It was Eric who nudged Mason and pointed across the Entrance Hall. By now, the rest of their group had caught on to what was happening, except for – of course – Rose and Aria, who were slowly making their way to the stairs. Rose glanced back and realizing they were alone, stopped Aria, who's eyes scanned the Hall.

She saw Mason, who bounded over with Eric and James, to Edward Longbottom. She saw Mason draw his wand. She saw Edward laugh. She saw another Hufflepuff Disarm Mason.

Then she saw Mason slam his fist into the Hufflepuff's stomach.

* * *

><p><em>(Eric)<em>

"How much trouble d'you think we'd get in if we jumped in the lake?" Delaney asked, teetering on the edge of the vast body of water.

"Loads. It's probably not a good idea, considering we are not the textbook definition of sober at the moment." Eric grabbed her arm and guided her gently away from the lake.

"What should we do then?" Dom pouted. "I don't want to go back to the dorms."

"Let's just, I dunno, stargaze."

"Stargaze? Are you crazy, Phillips?"

"I'll show you the constellations," Eric smiled down at her, and after a minute, Dom agreed. The pair (holding hands) stumbled over to Hagrid's pumpkin patch, which was sadly bare, as most of the crop had gone to Halloween, and the others had died with the snow.

"Look, there's Orion…" Eric took Dom's hand and traced the pictures in the sky with it. "D'you see his belt? The three stars together?"

"Yeah. Wow. How do you know about this?"

"Dad studies stars for a living. Yeah. Then there's his dogs, see? Canis Minor… and Canis Major." Eric traced the outlines. "Canis Major has the star Sirius…" Eric trailed off.

"Like, Sirius Black?"

"Most of the Black family and their relations are named after stars."

"That's cool, I guess." Both fell silent, watching their breath, the cold settling in around them. "Eric? Do you ever think about it?"

"About what?"

"The war." Dom bit her lip.

"Probably not as much as you do," Eric said honestly. "Your family…"

"The thing is," Dom cut in. "We don't really talk about it much."

"Why not?"

"I think it's too painful. Dad told me… it took awhile for Uncle Harry to be right again. Rose's mum and dad took awhile too, but Uncle Harry, he was the worst." Eric listened to her words. "He's still not right, I don't think."

"It must have been hard… seeing so many people he loved, die."

"Yeah." Dom whispered. "Yeah."

Despite the cold, despite the fact Dom was wearing Eric's suit jacket, and they were lying outside in the winter, drunk and sad, the two fell asleep. And while they were asleep, they subconsciously curled into one another, Dom's head against Eric's chest, his arm draped over her torso, their legs intertwined.

When Eric awoke two hours later, he recognized he was freezing, and so was Dom. Casting a Warming Charm, he picked up the sixth year, and carried her to the castle while she slept on.

Those few moments, from Hagrid's cabin to the front doors, Eric Phillips fell in love with Dominique Weasley, but resigned himself to the realization he would never be with her.

* * *

><p><em>(Dominique)<em>

"Eric…"

"Yes?"

"Do you remember when, you told me your father studies stars for a living? What does that mean?"

So Dom hadn't been thinking about Rose and Scorpius.

"Well," Eric said. "He's a Muggle astronomer. So they study the skies. Star patterns, and comets, and planets, all that kind of stuff. He's training now, to go into space."

"Wow," Dom breathed. "He'll be in space?"

"Yeah, if they don't cut the program."

"That's really neat." Dom sighed. "That would be so cool."

"Who knows?" Eric cracked a smile. "Maybe they'll put wizards in space."

Dom just laughed. She sobered up for a second, then looked at Eric. "You know, that night after Slughorn's party… how did I get back into the castle?"

Eric hesitated. "I carried you."

"You could have just woken me up."

He shrugged. "You were sleeping, you looked so peaceful…"

"Well, then, thank you."

"It was my pleasure."

The pair fell silent.

It pained Eric, it pained him every single day, that as one of the best looking boys at Hogwarts, he could have anyone. Instead, he – or something inside of him, some stupid subconscious part of him – chose Dom. And Dom wasn't interested. She didn't care.

And every time he looked at her, that's what he thought of. He thought of the night he carried her into the castle, her blonde hair spilling across his arms, looking beautiful in the winter moonlight.

* * *

><p><em>(Albus)<em>

He wasn't sure where they were.

His head was spinning.

And damn it – he never got a piece of his birthday cake.

Next to him, Emma was sleeping quietly, her blonde hair a mess. Albus glanced down at her, then paled. Oh, shit. Did he – did – they – oh, Merlin. They did, didn't they?

Albus sighed. He didn't know how this would change them, but they would figure that out later. It was Saturday, and his head hurt. Albus began kicking around the clothes on the floor, looking for his – when he spotted the piece of parchment.

Curious, Albus picked it up, scanning the letter quickly.

After he finished, he was simmering. He was bloody fucking furious. How could she have – have done this – right after her brother was diagnosed with cancer? Albus knew a little bit about cancer. Rose's Grandma Jean had died of lung cancer two years earlier. Hermione had explained the basics of the disease to the kids.

Albus threw the parchment down on the ground and dressed quickly, then left Emma, sleeping quietly, so she could deal with this all on her own.

* * *

><p><em>(Emma)<em>

"I have to tell you something," Albus said quietly. Emma leaned against the window.

"What?"

He hesitated, clearly ashamed. "I knew. About your brother. I saw the letter, after, my birthday…"

Emma froze completely. She couldn't breathe. He knew? He had known this entire time? And he acted like everything was okay? So he knew… he knew he had just been a distraction, something to help her forget, that maybe, one day, her brother was going to die.

She looked at Albus, then started to cry.

Albus reached out, and hugged her tightly. "Emma, no. It's okay…"

"It's not," she said thickly. "I'm just. I feel so selfish. I'm scared he's going to die, and if he dies, I'll be the one that's left. And if I'm the one that's left…" She sniffed loudly. "Everything will be about me. Mum and Dad wanted Tobias to be a Healer, and I just, I can't do something like that. I'm the stupid one. He's the good one." Emma leaned back, wiping her eyes. "I don't want him to die, because I don't want to be alone."

"You won't be… that's normal, Emma."

"Yeah? And how would you know?"

Albus laughed. "Are you forgetting who my father is?"

She smiled reluctantly. "I guess Harry Potter has that covered, doesn't he?"

"Definitely." Albus held out his arm. "Come on. Let's go find Rose."

* * *

><p><em>(James)<em>

"You were crying," Delaney stated, sitting down next to the Potter boy. He sat up, frowning at her.

"I wasn't."

"James. I'm not an idiot. I can see."

"Can you?"

"_James._"

He turned away from her.

"Just … tell me what's wrong," Delaney whispered, placing a hand on his shoulder. James shrugged it off, glaring at nothing, but Delaney just kept staring. She could wear him down. She was the only one who could stand toe-to-toe with the boy. "So, what? You're going to sit here and cry in the greenhouse, when a pretty girl is offering to talk to you about it?"

"I just can't do this anymore!" James shouted, standing up. Dirt flew from around his feet. Delaney looked up at him in shock. The outburst was incredibly sudden.

"What are you talking about?"

"All this… pressure. The Quidditch Captain. Prefect. Harry Potter's fucking _son._" James kicked at a gurdyroot. "Everyone expects something from me, but no one ever gives me anything. Everyone wants me to be James, but no one wants me to be _me._"

Delaney stood up carefully, watching the boy. He was ranting at nothing, not even looking at his companion.

"Do you realize what it's like, being the son of the Boy Who Lived? And I'm not even the good one. Albus is the good one, he's smart, and just better than I am in so many ways… and fucking Lily can do no wrong… and I'm named after James and Sirius, the masterminds, one of the most brilliant duos to ever hit the halls of this castle and everyone expects me to live up to my name!"

James stopped, breathing heavily, the tears cascading down his face once more.

"I can't handle it anymore."

"James…"

"Stop saying my _name like that!_"

Delaney shook her head. "Shut up, you twit, and listen to me. Look. You don't have to, do you realize that? Don't you think your dad understands?" She stepped forward. "Everyone expected the same from him, too."

"But he lived up to it."

"Only because he had to. The entire wizarding world needed him. You're just worried about your reputation within the castle."

James snorted. "I don't know why you're such an expert."

"Everyone expects me to blow stuff up all the time."

"You do, Finnegan."

"That's right." Delaney grinned. "That's easy."

James was quiet, breathing heavily. Delaney let him think, wandering around the greenhouse, looking for what she had originally come in here for. After a few minutes…

"Darling?"

"Don't call me that."

"You won't tell anyone, will you?"

Delaney straightened, a few leaves in her hands. She looked James straight in the eye.

"Tell anyone about what?"

And he understood.

* * *

><p><em>(Delaney)<em>

James started, as if he saw Voldemort turning the corner of the corridor. He opened Delaney's bag and began rummaging through the pockets.

"Hey – HEY! What are you doing?"

"Hold on," James muttered, pulling out a quill and some parchment. He scribbled something on the parchment and handed it to Delaney.

_I know Rose, _the messy handwriting said. _And if I know her as well as I think, she's listening at the door right now._

Delaney looked at James, her blue eyes wide. She took the quill and wrote back. _So what should we do?_

_Trick her._

Delaney was confused, but James just grinned wickedly. He placed his mouth against his arm, and made a strange sucking noise. Then he kicked her. _Moan, _he mouthed.

Delaney clapped her hands against her mouth, because she wanted to laugh, really hard. Oh, yes. If Rose was listening, she would definitely come out to see this.

Tilting her head back, Delaney stifled another giggle. "Oh, James."

James grimaced, his chin quivering. He was totally trying not to laugh. He made another sucking noise, then whispered, "Delaney…"

She moaned again, but it came out sounding like a groan, and James half snorted. Delaney collapsed against him, giggling into his shirt. James curved his arms around her, pulling her in, and the two sat like that, making more noises.

"It's not working," Delaney whispered. James shook his head.

"We're not that believable."

"We could never be actors," Delaney said.

"Nope." James let out a laugh. "Unless you want to try the real thing."

She pulled back, looking up at James, and noticed the regular spark in his eye. It was one of his ideas. It could get messy. But Delaney curled her hand around James's, and leaned forwards.

What James expected, he didn't know. Certainly it would be just another kiss with another girl. Instead, it was an explosion in his mind. Fireworks and chills, running through his veins, as he moved his lips against Darling Delaney's – the prettiest girl in the school, the girl who knew the most about him.

He pulled her close once more, holding her tight. He didn't know if Delaney was feeling the same way. But by the way her hand moved up and pushed through his hair, then grazed his cheek, he could recognize she felt that way.

It could have gone further. It could have been longer. But the door flew open, and Rose stood at the entrance to the Prefect's Office, eyes wide.

"Rosie," James croaked, pulling away as he sensed the new observer. "Hello."

Rose just shook her head.

"Okay," she whispered. "You win."

Delaney was on fire.

But she stood up and embraced her friend.

* * *

><p><em>(Mason)<em>

He found her in the sitting room, her eyes closed, but she wasn't sleeping. Mason took a second and just looked at her. She was definitely beautiful, but there were so many more things about her, other than her face. How her body curved in all the right places, and how she dressed like she didn't care. How her hair fell and framed her face in riotous ringlets, and her eyelashes cast shadows on her dark skin.

Then there were the inside things. How she laughed at the silliest jokes, how every word she spoke carried so much weight, how when she was thinking hard, a little crevice appeared between her eyebrows.

He knocked on the wall. "Aria?"

Her eyes flew open and she stood fast, blushing. "Hello, Mason."

"What are you doing in here?" Mason asked, glancing around. "The party's outside."

He wanted to kick himself. The party's outside? Great, Phillips. She knows that.

"It was getting very crowded," Aria explained. "I just needed a minute to get myself together."

"Oh." Oh. You're really stunning her with your vocabulary, here.

"Yes." Aria tilted her head. "What are you doing here?"

"I saw you come in." And now you're a stalker. "I just wondered if you were alright."

"I'm okay." She smiled at him. "We don't talk much, do we, Mason?"

"No." He laughed. "I don't see why."

"Me neither. You're very nice."

"Thank you." He was next to her now, somehow. Did she move up next to him? Or did he walk to her? He didn't know. His heart was pounding.

"How's your brother?" Aria asked. Mason scowled.

"He's great. He's outside, kicking gnomes with James."

"Of course."

"Yeah."

"I have a younger sister. She's seven. She's showing signs of magic…" Aria broke off. "Sorry. I'm rambling."

Mason grinned. "It's cute."

Aria blushed again. "Did you just call me cute?"

"I suppose I did."

Aria shifted. "I should probably return to the celebrations…"

Helplessly, Mason watched her as she began to walk away. Then something overcame him. "Aria – wait!"

She turned, looking at him expectantly. He took two big steps forward, then did it.

He leaned down, and he _almost _kissed her.

Aria jerked her head back, stumbling towards the couch. She collapsed onto it, then stood again, shaking.

And instead of speaking, she turned and flew out the back door.

* * *

><p><em>(Aria)<em>

Here's the truth.

Aria really, really liked Mason. Oh, of course she did. He was dark and handsome and he liked her. But then there were the little things. The way he smiled to himself when everyone was laughing around him, as if he was enjoying the people, not the words. The way he could go from thoughtful in class to loud in the hallways. How he cared for the people after the prank – she had seen it – stopping for an extra second to make sure they weren't seriously harmed.

But Aria couldn't be with him. That was just too much. He was too much. How could someone like Mason, one of the most respected boys at Hogwarts, be with quiet, mousey Aria?

It would never happen.

But when he said he loved her, she wanted to say it back. Even though she wasn't sure. Even though he said "I think" and not just the three simple words themselves. Instead, Aria said nothing, something she was rather good at, because sometimes there was nothing to say.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: PHEW! So many words. Crazy. My fingers hurt. Okay, I know there's a lack of ScoRose in this chapter, but _it's coming, I swear. _You have to wait though… seeing as the next one is the fifth years, and oh, there's fun planned for those ones. I'm sorry it took so long to update. And hey, thanks for the reviews/favourites/subscribes! You guys are cool. I enjoy your existence very much. Okay. Much love.**

**Reviews are warm pancakes with whipped cream.**


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